Techniques exist in the prior art for detecting occurrences of certain types of events. For example, building security systems can detect the opening of a door or a window in a building. Such systems in the prior art typically require that each door, window, or other object that is being monitored have some type of sensor attached to it, which provides a signal to a central station as to whether the object has been operated (e.g., opened, closed, etc.). A disadvantage with this type of system, however, is that a sensor must be associated with each object being monitored, and then the sensor must be monitored rather than the object itself.
Techniques also exist in the prior art for detecting certain types of events, without the need to associate a sensor with each object being monitored. For example, incidents such as a break-in or other unauthorized activity can be monitored somewhat remotely via a network of motion detectors, audio detectors, or other suitable sensors that are deployed throughout the area being monitored, such as in an office building. These detectors report sensed data to a central station. The information reported by the detectors is processed and the central station determines whether an incident of heightened significance has occurred. This type of monitoring system, however, still requires sensors to be situated throughout the area being monitored.
What is needed is a technique for monitoring and detecting incidents and other events, in-building and otherwise, without at least some of the disadvantages in the prior art.